Local delegates want specifics on pitched assault weapon ban

Saturday

Dec 29, 2012 at 10:30 PM

Nick Coltrain

Local legislators said they want more information before making concrete comments on an Atlanta senator's pitch for a ban on assault weapons in Georgia.

In the aftermath of the Dec. 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., that left 20 students and six staff members dead, state Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta, told WXIA TV that mental health services and gun show loopholes need to be addressed in Georgia. Further, he said, "If we can do a ban (on assault weapons) in the state of Georgia, I think that would be an advance on this issue."

He told the television station that he is drafting legislation that he expects to introduce when the state Legislature reconvenes next month. The station did not offer additional details about the proposal.

Before offering criticism or support for the pitch, Rep. Chuck Williams, R-Watkinsville, Rep.-elect Spencer Frye, D-Athens, and Sen. Frank Ginn, R-Danielsville, said they'd need more details when it comes to proposals like that and hesitated before commenting on the idea.

"I'm a firearms owner and I don't know what the definition of an assault weapon is," Williams quipped. "... I think the devil is always in the details. Are we talking about something based on appearance? Are we talking about mechanical (design)?"

Ginn and Frye said mental health services need to be looked at in the state as part of any reaction to the Sandy Hook murders and other shootings in recent weeks.

"I do really feel for the families that have lost so much in shootings in Connecticut and other places around the country," Ginn said. "The most difficult things with that is people that suffer from mental health issues. They really need a lot of help. I hope we can do something to address the mental health issues across the country and especially here in Georgia."

Ginn said he's not an expert in the mental health field and hasn't examined how the state handles mental healthcare.

"It's troubling to me to see how are we handling that for people" he said. "Are they able to get the help that they need? I haven't delved into the situation, but it has not been an issue that has really rendered itself on the forefront until the recent shootings."

Frye noted troubles the state ran into with the U.S. Department of Justice with its handling of state psychiatric hospitals in 2009.

"I think primarily not recognizing there is a problem could be our biggest problem as a state," Frye said. "I think it's tragic that events like this have to occur before we start looking at trying to fix things. There is definitely a direct link between mental health issues in the state of Georgia and stuff that could happen anywhere."

Frye didn't voice support for any weapons bans, though he would be willing to look at any comprehensive reforms, but said any fix must come with a mental health component.

"Mental healthcare in Georgia is primarily the function of our jails right now," he said.

He said limiting magazine sizes for guns could help prevent a Sandy Hook-type massacre, as could better management of gun sales, such as at gun shows and private sales. He also endorsed some type of reporting system.

"I feel it is very interesting to me that I can't go buy my allergy medicine but I can go out and buy a thousand bullets," Frye said, referring to the restrictions on medicines with ephedrine as a result of the methamphetamine epidemic.

Williams questioned how effective a state ban would be, given Georgia's proximity to other states. Instead, "our country has to have an intelligent conversation about acts like this," he said.

"Georgia's not a terribly large state," Williams said. "If Georgia imposes restrictions and those restrictions are not uniform (across the country), I think all you're doing there is creating an across-state-lines market and I don't know what purpose that serves."

• Follow government and business reporter Nick Coltrain at twitter.com/ncoltrain or on Facebook at facebook.com/NickColtrainABH.

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